Workers’ Sense of Respect Hits Record Low; TR Can Help Turn It Around

Today’s American workers are increasingly feeling disrespected on the job. Let that sink in.

According to Gallup, which has measured respect at work since 2018, the percentage of surveyed U.S. workers who strongly agree they are treated respectfully at work has dropped to 37% — a record low that was also reached in 2022 … at the peak of the Great Resignation.

Almost 50 million workers left their jobs in 2021, and more than half of workers surveyed during that time cited lack of respect as a factor.

Now, with employee satisfaction lower than ever (at least according to the Gallup surveys), perceptions of respect dwindling and workers feeling like they aren’t thriving, today’s employees are in a new phase: the “Great Detachment,” said Ben Wigert, Gallup’s director of research and strategy — workplace management.

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Utilize Soft Skills to Foster Respect at Work

Feelings of disrespect in the workplace can be tied to low employee engagement and job satisfaction, increased stress, and reduced well-being and mental health. It is a leading harbinger of employee burnout, unethical workplace behavior and voluntary turnover, Wigert said.

Total rewards (TR) departments play an integral role in worker respect — and, by extension, attraction and retention, Wigert noted. Gallup research found that a combination of pay and benefits are the top reason employees cite for leaving a job, and their second-highest reason for seeking out a new role. Such rewards have become increasingly important for job-seekers compared to pre-pandemic years, with millennials placing even more weight on their significance.

“While workplace policies and systems — like total rewards — are not always the root cause of being treated with disrespect, they are a critical part of every employee’s experience and the ecosystem at work,” Wigert said. “They contribute to how valued each employee feels by the organization.”

Discover How Your Workers Feel

TR professionals trying to gauge workplace respect should be cautious of survey fatigue — and employees’ perception that their input won’t change anything, said Jonathan Westover, the founder and CEO at Human Capital Innovations, and professor and chair of the Organizational Leadership Department at Utah Valley University.

Rather than cumbersome questionnaires, rapid-response pulse surveys are more likely to engage employees, he said.

Qualitative tools like focus groups, open-ended survey questions and stay interviews are particularly valuable for sussing out the nuances of employee experiences tied to respect (or disrespect), said Kristie Rogers, a professor of management at the Marquette University College of Business Administration, whose research focuses on respect and identity at work.

“It is helpful for a leader or total rewards professional to collect information and stories on an ongoing basis, asking questions like, ‘Can you tell me about a time that you felt especially valued or respected here?’” Rogers said. “The information and stories are there, and employees are likely eager to share if someone is eager to listen.”

However you measure employee engagement and respect, Westover advised to not miss the most important step: Follow up.

“Obviously, management is not going to act on every last piece of feedback received, but when possible, they should highlight what actual decisions have come from employee feedback — that’s powerful,” he said. “If the employee voice has made a difference, management should take every opportunity to highlight that.”

TR Approaches for Strengthening Workplace Respect

Pay equity, benefits supporting work-life balance and well-being, equitable career development opportunities, and recognition all play a role in how respected an employee feels, Rogers said.

She noted two potential contributors to the record drop in workplace respect — and ways total rewards can address them:

Reduced organic connections due to remote, hybrid or autonomous work. Foster improved connection through new recognition programs or benefits demonstrating a culture of appreciation.
“Broader societal polarization” that affects how one employee feels respected compared to another. Structure recognition or companywide initiatives in a consistent, transparent and inclusive way that acknowledges and values diverse perspectives.

Rewards should align with what Rogers described as both “owed respect” and “earned respect.”

Owed respect “is the baseline dignity and inclusion every employee should receive, regardless of role or performance,” Rogers said. Fair, equitable, organizationwide pay and benefits support this form of respect.
Earned respect involves recognizing individual contributions, skills or work aspects that exceed expectations. Reward this form with recognition programs or bonuses carrying clear criteria.

TR packages need to be real and applicable, rather than just looking good on paper, Westover said. He noted that programs such as unlimited paid time off (PTO) or flexible schedules often fall flat in their implementation or enforcement — even those created with the best of intentions.

Open communication, collaboration with leadership and regular check-ins with employees can help ensure rewards programs enhance rather than diminish workplace respect, Westover said.

Say you roll out an unlimited PTO policy, and throughout the following year you find workers are taking fewer days off, and are more burned out and less engaged. You may need to foster consistent support of the policy among individual managers, or ensure senior leadership sets an example by taking time off themselves, Westover said. Measuring those results and making changes in real time can help organizations avoid negative, cyclical patterns that erode employee trust.

Tackle Employee Respect in Tandem

Interestingly, a good compensation and benefits package doesn’t single-handedly improve a sense of respect in the workplace, but the lack of good total rewards causes employees to feel significantly disrespected, according to the “Respect Languages” coined by The Respect Project at Universidad San Francisco de Quito.

That means TR pros are key in boosting workplace engagement and respect — but they can’t do it alone.

Employees feel respected at work when they believe they matter to others and are part of the team, their skills and contributions are valued, and their opinions count, Wigert said.

“Making these key experiences a part of your culture, conversations with managers and talent management practices are foundational to cultivating a workplace where people feel valued and respected,” he said.

Achieving that means “all hands on deck” — incorporating both the TR perspective and buy-in from leadership.

“You can roll out the best total rewards package — it could be the next revolution in innovation in total rewards — and it wouldn’t matter if employees don’t trust it,” Westover said. “First and foremost, look at communication, transparency and trust to start to rebuild respect.”

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